China's Q1 growth beats expectations

THE CHINESE ECONOMY grew more than expected in the first three months of the year, new data shows, as China built more factories and exported huge amounts of goods to counter a severe real estate crisis and sluggish spending at home.

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To stimulate growth, China, the world's second-largest economy, turned to a familiar tactic: investing heavily in its manufacturing sector, including a binge of new factories that have helped to propel sales around the world of solar panels, electric cars, and other products.

But China's bet on exports has worried many foreign countries and companies.